KU School of Architecture & Design announces fall 2025 design lecture series schedule

Mon, 08/18/2025

Dan Rolf

LAWRENCE — The School of Architecture & Design at the University of Kansas has announced programming for the Fall 2025 KU Design Professional Lecture Series.

The series kicks off at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 with a lecture by designer and KU alumnus Tad Carpenter. Following the lecture, an opening reception for a retrospective exhibition of Carpenter’s “SUNday SUNS” series will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Gallery in Chalmers Hall.

For over four decades, the KU Design Professional Lecture Series (formerly the Hallmark Symposium) has introduced KU students and the local creative community to artists and designers working in a wide range of disciplines, media and professional fields.

Lectures begin at 6 p.m. in 3140 Wescoe Hall on the KU Lawrence campus, except where stated otherwise. Virtual lecture details will be published on the lecture series webpage the week of the event. Events are free and open to the public.

Aug. 21

Tad Carpenter is a designer, illustrator, author and founding partner of Carpenter Collective, a Kansas City, Missouri-based graphic design and branding studio. Carpenter has illustrated more than 20 children's books and designed more than 200 gig posters for musicians, bands and tours. His personal projects include his weekly SUNday Suns and Made in the Middle. In 2017, he was named a Graphic Designer To Watch by GDUSA.

Sept. 4

Jeff Breazeale is a designer, brand strategist and founding partner at The Matchbox Studio. He has worked for more than 25 years helping clients identify brand opportunities and develop creative solutions. At The Matchbook Studio, Breazeale has led teams developing work for clients that include American Airlines, Dallas Museum of Art, FedEx, Fossil, Neenah Paper and the State Fair of Texas. In 2020, Breazeale launched MBX Real Estate Creative, a sister-agency to Matchbox dedicated to multifamily residential branding.

Sept. 18

Aggie Toppins is a graphic designer, collagist and scholar who combines a studio background with humanities methods to explore meaning making in visual and material culture. Her book “Thinking Through Graphic Design History: Challenging the Canon” (Bloomsbury, 2025) surveys the terrain where historical research and visual communication meet. The project challenges traditional understandings of graphic design history, offering ways for designers to shape socially engaged, critical practices.

Oct. 2

Adam Henry is an animator, writer and producer with more than 20 years of experience working in film and television. Beginning his career at Warner Brothers as an animator on the film “Iron Giant,” Henry went on to serve a variety of roles – including storyboard artist, producer and showrunner at Disney (“Penn Zero,” “Tinkerbell Movie”), DreamWorks (“She Ra,” “Jurassic Park”), Nickelodeon (“Kung Fu Panda,” “The Loud House,” “Ni Hao Kailan,” “Random Cartoons,” “Robot Monster”) and Netflix (“Dogs in Space”).

Oct. 23 (virtual event)

Jeremy Vickery is an artist specializing in light and color who works in film, television and video games. Credits include “Assassins Creed,” “Brave,” “Cars,” “Fallout,” “The Incredibles,” “Inside Out,” “Ratatouille,” “Wall-E,” “Westworld,” and “Uncharted.” Vickery also founded Lighting Mentor, a company that provides educational courses, workshops and apprenticeship programs to students and other artists seeking to enhance their skills.

Nov. 6

Wesley Bedrosian is an illustrator and art director whose editorial illustrations have appeared in numerous publications, including The Boston Globe, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Scientific American, Vanity Fair and The Wall Street Journal. He has taught and lectured at Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute and The School of Visual Arts.